VIDEO: UH football: First quarter vs. Utah State
VIDEO: UH football: Second quarter vs. Utah State
VIDEO: UH football: Third quarter vs. Utah State
VIDEO: UH football: Fourth quarter vs. Utah State
VIDEO: UH football tops Utah State, 49-36

The decade of the running game was resurrected in the Warriors' 49-36 victory over Utah State last night at Aloha Stadium.

Running backs Leon Wright-Jackson and Alex Green rushed for 167 and 110 yards, respectively, to become the first UH duo to each surpass the century mark since 1995. Wright-Jackson had three touchdown runs to complement quarterback Bryant Moniz's 337 passing yards and four scoring throws.

"The run is back in the run-and-shoot," declared left guard Ray Hisatake after the Warriors rolled up 360 rushing yards, their most since 1996, and 697 total yards.

"It was nice to give our running backs the ball and watch them go," said Moniz, who earned his first victory as UH's starting quarterback.

By winning for the first time since Sept. 12, the Warriors improved to 2-6 overall and 1-5 in the Western Athletic Conference. They terminated a six-game losing streak, their longest since the 0-12 season in 1998.

The mounting losses had become an anchor to the Warriors' spirits. Linebacker Blaze Soares, their feisty defensive leader, said he canceled his Facebook account after receiving numerous barbs.

"We took a lot of (bleep) from people," Soares said. "We knew we had to get the monkey off our back."

The Aggies, who entered as 2-point favorites, provided proper motivation. Last year, the Aggies upset the Warriors in Logan, Utah. The Aggies won that game using the same defensive scheme they would employ last night: a 4-2-5 alignment with the safeties and corners in man coverage.

The man-to-man is an aggressive high risk/high reward scheme. The payoff comes, for instance, when cornerback Kejon Murphy jumps the passing lane, as he did in intercepting Moniz's first pass of the game, a turnover that was parlayed into a 23-yard touchdown drive for the Aggies.

"I was discouraged," Moniz said, "but I figured, 'At least I got that out of the way. I don't have to worry about throwing picks anymore.' "

But the Aggies' defensive scheme is not equipped with a safety net.

"Once a running back gets past that first line, there's nobody home," UH center John Estes said.

To ensure that the running lanes would be cleared, the UH receivers ran decoy routes to draw away defenders.

"I was lovin' it," said Wright-Jackson, who collaborated with right wideout Jovonte Taylor on football's version of the pick-and-roll. "Three times I ran plays to Jovonte's side. Jovonte looked at me (before the snap), and just took off. As fast as he is, he can pull anybody away."

After the Aggies closed to 42-28 in the fourth quarter, the Warriors answered with their own scoring drive, which concluded with Moniz's 4-yard pass to Greg Salas.

The key to the drive was Green's 35-yard run. On that play, left wideout Kealoha Pilares ran a post pattern while his arms were raised. It was a ruse, conning the Aggies into thinking Pilares was the intended receiver. Green then ran a stretch play to the left, an area Pilares vacated, for the long gain to the USU 7.

"It was very unselfish on Kealoha's part," quarterbacks coach Nick Rolovich said. "He didn't have a lot of catches today, but to do that in the fourth quarter shows what a great teammate he is.

"I think it's fun to see the receivers run corner routes, taking a (defender) out of the way, and then having the running back run by," Rolovich added. "It's as good as a block. You have to smile when you see that."

Wright-Jackson and Green combined for six runs of more than 15 yards.

As a high school senior, Wright-Jackson was a highly recruited back who eventually signed with Nebraska. He also was featured in a highlight video that would be widely viewed on YouTube.

Last night, Wright-Jackson was able to produce the long-awaited highlight sequel. The best run of his three-year UH career was a 62-yarder off a trap play.

The secret to Wright-Jackson's success?

"Big holes," line coach Gordy Shaw said.

"The offensive line was doing a great job with the run blocks," Wright-Jackson said. "You give the running backs a big hole, we're going to hit it, and we're going to hit it fast."

Perhaps what was most noticeable was Wright-Jackson's emotions. Too often in his career he appeared to play with a lack of ... happiness?

"I'm enjoying the moment," Wright-Jackson said.

Perhaps that can be traced to the birth of his daughter, Jayla, last month.

"I wake up every day the same way: happy," Wright-Jackson said.

Green also is thankful, especially when he took the leap of faith in joining a pass-oriented program.

"I didn't know if I would get a lot of carries," said Green, who had 10 last night. "I'm grateful for every carry."

The Warriors' early leads — they were ahead 35-7 at intermission — also boosted the defense.

Diondre Borel gave the Warriors fits in last year's game, using his elusive running to set up his play-action passes. With the Aggies trailing most of the way, the Warriors could activate their blitz packages.

The Warriors made two interceptions, and they stuffed Borel on a fourth-and-1 play at the UH 6.

All of which led to a collective feeling of relief for the Warriors.

"The taste of victory can't be beat," left tackle Aaron Kia said. "We had that bitter taste of losing all of those games in a row. We had to bust a win. It wasn't a matter of 'we have to win.' It was, 'we gotta win.' This is our first statement in a long time. We're going to enjoy it for a day, then get back to work. We can't let up."

Visit Tsai's blog at http://warriorbeat.honadvblogs.com.